Shifting over 50 million copies in just a few months, Flappy Bird is one of the biggest gaming success stories of recent times. This weekend, however, its creator withdrew it, claiming it had ruined his life. But for those who know where to look, getting hold of an unauthorized copy right now is easy and since it's no longer officially available, that makes it perfectly OK to 'pirate' a copy - doesn't it?

From humble beginnings a few short years ago, the smartphone and tablet app market has turned into a monster, with some predicting sales nearing $30 billion this year.

However, while millions of apps are sold with a price tag of a few cents to a few dollars, the real beauty of the market is that countless games and utilities are completely (or at least initially) free of charge. These apps make their revenue from advertising or in-app purchases, reducing the barrier to entry to the lowest possible level and elevating user-bases to previously unimagined levels.

One such app that has done incredibly well is Flappy Bird. The game was introduced in May 2013 but in just over six months has turned into a giant, clocking up 50 million downloads on iOS and Android. The game is a social media phenomenon but now the dream is coming to an end.

Over the weekend Dong Nguyen, the creator of Flappy Bird, announced that he would be removing the game from sale, claiming it had ruined his life. While some gamers reacted with relief that they could reclaim some of their lives back, others late to the game are bitterly disappointed that it’s no longer available.

But of course, it is.

Torrents for both the iOS and Android versions of Flappy Bird are currently doing very well indeed on The Pirate Bay and other torrent sites. So-called DDL (Direct Download) sites, forums and associated file-hosting sites are also doing a roaring trade on the game’s withdrawal, and posts have been appearing around the web on where to get a copy of the game and how to install it.

But to have people bending over backwards to pirate what was until recently a free game is a huge opportunity lost. There are reports that Nguyen had been making $50K a day from Flappy’s in-game advertising, which is money that dozens of charities would happily fight over. Still, it’s Nguyen’s game to do with as he likes.

Which raises an interesting point.

The introduction of ad-supported models have removed a significant incentive for many people to pirate and have allowed free products like Flappy Bird to thrive and generate revenue for their creators. But what happens when their creators decide they’ve had enough? Someone illegally downloading Flappy Bird today is definitely not depriving Nguyen of any revenue and he’s on record as refusing to sell the game and has stated that he’s not interested in its future.

Does that make it completely Ok then, morally and by any other barometer, to snag a ‘pirate’ copy of a piece of gaming history and help stop it drift into oblivion?

With the Internet Archive now proudly and openly offering a torrent containing thousands of MAME arcade games from the 70s, 80s and 90s for free download, there is definitely a feeling that much-loved, abandoned (but probably still copyrighted) games should be kept alive.

Whether a game that died just 48 hours ago qualifies for resurrection is something up for debate but one thing is certain. The press this game has got will ensure that Nguyen’s next creation is a huge hit from the second it lands, even if it did take the needless death of a bird to achieve that.

Or maybe its sacrificial slaughter had been on the viral marketing agenda for some time….